Big Swords
by Froggy-slice
Summary: It has always been questioned wether or not destiny or even a higher power existed, but for Cloud Strife, Mamochi Zabuza and Bonkoutsu everything about something up there seems to be true as they have been revived by said being and cast into this world...
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Yo. Story number 12. Had to try it out. This is my attempt at a Claymore crossover fic. Hope ya like it.**

**Chapter one**

"…_no…"_

A heart beat…

"_Your times are not yet up…"_

Another heartbeat…

"_Heaven…has no place for you three yet…"_

A finger twitches…

"_You three have…a new destiny…a greater one."_

A slender, feminine hand cups the cheeks of three different young men in a loving, motherly fashion and a tear drops from…somewhere and lands on the forehead of the blonde…

"_You still have so much to learn, my children…so much you can accomplish…"_

The hand fades away and a soft glow encompasses all three still forms.

"_Live again…live and save this tormented new world…bring salvation to the poor people of this world, destroy the taint and the corruption… find love…"_

The glow intensifies until it is too bright to distinguish the three men and the sound of the humming of a thousand female voices cries out a message, _"Live again, mighty warriors." _Then the glow stops, the light fading away to reveal that the men are gone.

They woke up at the same time. Three pairs of eyes snapped open and widened as the sheer shock of the dream they just had hit them full force. Then they noticed each other. They stared at each other in shock for a few seconds, silently assessing one another and taking in the details of each other.

It was obvious right away that they were from different lands. Their clothing styles were all so different; then again, they had been dead for who knows how long. Any of the other two could have been from either a past or future era…or a different world all together. There was really no way to tell really.

Finally, one of the men snorted and stood. Without a word he began to move, taking the massive halberd that was stabbed into the ground and resting it on his shoulder.

The other two men exchanged glances. They knew nothing about each other…but that dream was very much still vivid in their minds. They shrugged and hurried after the third man, each grabbing their respective weapons and strapping them to their backs.

The weather here was cold and dreary. He honestly hated this type of weather. Snow was damned inconvenient and the winds cut right through to the bone. It made fighting so much more difficult.

He didn't even stop to look as the other two caught up to him and took positions on either side but he did take note of the giant swords they each carried. The blonde's weapon though…

It looked like multiple blades combined into one. How interesting.

He suppressed a snort when he saw the brown haired one. He was wearing no shirt, only a strap that held his weapon to his back. He didn't look at all bothered by the cold which was odd. He wondered what type of warrior he was in his past life, where he grew up and such.

He suppressed a grin. He knew nothing of these two and he could guess they were in the same boat, but he was willing to work with them if they proved to be more than just show with those swords. Perhaps they could even give him a decent fight every once in a while. That voice from the dream said they were to save this world. He didn't really know how he felt about that. He wasn't a hero, he wasn't noble and he sure as hell wasn't a person to help others he knew nothing about. He cared for little really save for his comrades, comrades who were all dead now, and he doubted he was just going to change to suit the whims of a voice in his dreams. But at the least, he was willing to travel with these two, and whatever owned the voice was real enough to have resurrected him so he wasn't going to completely disregard it.

He turned to the blonde first and nodded. "I guess I should introduce myself, if we're going to be travelling together we might as well start by knowing each other's names eh?"

The brown haired one chuckled. "Heh."

The blonde eyed the one who had spoken before with a sharp intense gaze before he said, "Cloud Strife," rather emotionlessly.

The brown haired man spoke next chuckling again. "Zabuza Mamochi."

The last one grinned, large and toothy. It was a look that probably didn't belong on the face of a human. "I'm Bonkotsu. Sorry, no fancy sir name for me."

Zabuza chuckled again and the three continued on in silence once again. It's not like they had much to talk about anyway. They could probably talk more about the voice and the dream and what they were resurrected for but that was pretty much pointless. The message was clear really. They had things to kill. It suited them all just fine.

They walked for an hour. The weather seemed to get a bit more intense until Zabuza finally shivered and growled out a quiet, "Gonna need a damn shirt before I freeze to death," causing Bonkotsu to laugh.

Cloud also looked faintly amused but said nothing.

They emerged from the forest and spotted a sign of civilization at last. They would start their journey from there after stocking up on the proper supplies and whatnot. It was a city partially built on hills and cliffs, surrounded by a large defensive wall. They stood there for a second examining the city.

"Heh, doesn't look so different from a shinobi village," muttered Zabuza, causing Bonkotsu to raise an eyebrow. "A ninja village eh?" he said. They eyed the city again before they began to move as one.

"Whatever. I'm freaking starving," Zabuza chuckled again. "Well then let's go." He paused. "How fast can you two run?"

Cloud raised an eyebrow before he said, "Fast enough."

"Ditto," said Bonkotsu. Zabuza shrugged. "Alright then." Then he was gone faster than normal eyes could see, zipping across the land at amazing speed. Cloud tensed and leaped up and forward, seemingly flying while Bonkotsu whistled. "Damn that is impressive." Then he too was gone.

They raced across the land, closing in on the city at and amazing speed. At this rate they'd be there in thirty minutes. Zabuza was very impressed, especially with Bonkotsu. The young man was using no chakra or any other source of energy. His speed was purely his own…natural body. What sort of era did he live in that allowed a humans to grow as strong as this guy was without the aid of chakra?

Cloud was strong too. He didn't run; more like hopped from place to place but his jumps were extremely fast and extremely far. It was like he was meant for flying but just never grew wings. And he could feel the strange energy coursing through the blonde's body, enhancing his natural abilities, perhaps even beyond his own.

His senses exploded to life, causing him to skid to a halt and look to the north at a cliff off in the distance. Bonkotsu skidded to a halt next to him while cloud landed next to Bonkotsu.

"What is it?" asked the blonde.

Zabuza, his eyes still narrowed pointed at the cliff. "Something's there…feels like a demon of some sort." He closed his eyes but Cloud beat him to the next sentence.

"There are…three of them."

Bonkotsu chuckled. "Whaddaya say? Warn the city or kill em ourselves?" he asked, while tightening the grip on his halberd. Zabuza chuckled as well. "Warning people has never been my style," he said

"No wait," began Cloud. "There is something in the city as well. There are numerous presences some are very strong. Others are weak…they are like the three scoping out the city yet they are…different."

"Hmm? Different you say?"

The blonde looked up in thought. "I can't put my finger on it," he said. "But I'm not entirely sure they are enemies."

However any more speculation was cut off when the tainted energy assaulted the senses of all three of them and they looked back towards the cliff to see one of the monsters rush at the city silently and quickly, several tentacles lashing out as he leapt to the city, followed by the other two who had yet to transform.

"Looks like our decision's been made for us," said Cloud.

"Let's roll," said Zabuza with a grin. The three men shot towards the city, anticipation upon their faces.

"Number 14 Cynthia, number 13 Veronica's team,"

"Number 15 Deneve, number 11 Undine's team,"

"Number 17 Eliza, Number 9 Jean's team,"

"Number 18 Lily, number 8 flora's team,"

"Number 20 Cuinee, number 6 Miria's team,"

"Number 22 Helen, Veronica team,"

"Number 24 Zeruda Undine team,"

"Number 27 Amelia, Jean team,"

"Number 30 Wendy, Flora team,"

"Number 31 Tabitha, Miria team,"

"Number 35 Pamela, Veronica team,"

"Number 36 Claudia, Undine team,"

"Number 37 Natalie, Jean team,"

"Number 39 Carla, Flora team,"

"Number 40, Yuma, Miria team,"

"Number 41, Matilda, Veronica team."

"Number 43 Juliana, Undine team,"

"Number 44, Diana, Jean team,"

"Number 47, Clare, Flora team."

"My team has four people, meaning the rest should have five. Is there anyone who does not have a team yet? Good. Spend today to get to know each other. The operation starts tomorrow, rest up as you are no doubt fatigued from such a long journey."

The 24 warrior women all exchanged glances before the spilt up into their formed teams. Things were a bit awkward and a bit tense. This many warriors gathered together was never really a good thing. There are many different personalities that clashed, not to mention not being used to working in groups. There was also the prospect of facing their opponents real soon. Awakened beings, a large group of them, these odds were…impossible, yet they had no choice but to do this.

The day progressed, the woman slowly began to get used to each other and the citizens were blissfully unaware of the danger they were in.

As five people talked and got reacquainted with each other and stories exchanged, the attack began. The awakened being landed right in the town square and with an almost respectful tone said, "Hello, citizen of Pieta…and farewell," as he shredded the civilians in an instant.

The fight was on. The warrior women mobilized instantly with Miria taking command of the troops.

Flora and her team attacked the cloaked one who had yet to transform, this was all for nothing as he proved to be able to control the bodies of his enemies by taking control of their yoki. Carla fell victim to this and was forced to attack her comrades, a look of pure horror on her face as she tried to get them to run.

However the intervention of Clare freed them up and allowed for Flora to nearly flay their foe. However he escaped and laughed as he transformed, stating, "This is why I just can't stop being a monster."

Jean's team was utterly defeated by the bald one as he transformed into a monstrous bug like yoma, taunting the number 9 because she had attempted to protect them.

It was then that Helen arrived…

The three men arrived at the city's wall just in time to watch the monsters get utterly destroyed by these…women. All three of them watched with a sense of wonder as these women, dressed in skin tight bodysuits and armor all wielding identical claymore swords with different symbols engraved upon them utterly annihilated these beasts. Sure some of them were heavily injured but they seemed…fine. It was…astounding.

"Heh, Guess we weren't needed after all," said Bonkotsu, sounding very disappointed. Zabuza too was displeased but his displeasure was utterly blocked out by the fascination he felt while examining these women.

"Those women…are like the monsters they just killed, but only so," Said Cloud. "It's almost like…they had monster flesh implanted…" he trailed off. Such a method, so like, yet so unlike the methods used to create SOLDIERs for Shinra. What the hell is this?

Bonkotsu raised an eyebrow. "You okay there man?" he asked. The blonde waved him off. "I'm fine."

Bonkotsu didn't bother any further and looked back towards the city, watching as the woman took their injured comrades into a broken building to heal and recover. He contemplated before he turned to his two companions.

"Well…sheez. Looks like the battles over…or maybe that was just an appetizer."

"Indeed," said cloud.

"What do you two want to do?"

Zabuza tore his gaze away from the women below and shrugged. "I personally am tempted to just head down there and introduce myself; however there are numerous advantages to the element of surprise. If something shows up that they can't handle we can catch it completely off guard."

"Hmm, true, true. Ok fine. I'll forego meeting them for now as well. Though spying was never my specialty, I can manage."

"Same here," said Cloud. Zabuza shrugged. "Alright then, we'll simply observe for now, but the second it starts looking bad for those women, I'm jumping in."

Bonkotsu laughed. "I'm not even sure I can wait that long but alright."

"Besides, we might be able to learn more about these women if we observe them for now."

"Agreed."

The day progressed once again. The three men stayed in the shadows and kept their presences completely suppressed. They separated as to make it harder to be detected, exploring the city and observing the twenty-four women stationed in said city.

Zabuza watched as two women met out in the woods late at night and tested their unique power attacks against each other. It was a very interesting thing to watch, quick sword…and wind cutter eh? He'd have to look into that.

Bonkotsu watched a confrontation between the one called Undine and the apparent supreme commander of this mission. She expressed her distaste for the weak and the fact that said commander even allowed them to fight. It was a clever ruse but he saw right through her. He himself was similar after all. This woman cared deeply for her comrades and it tore her up to see any of them get hurt.

Cloud himself stumbled upon the conversation between one who had confronted the supreme commander and one of her own subordinates. Apparently Undine was a frail, timid one, hidden underneath a visage of vulgarity and muscle, scared of the fact that she was forced to nearly go past a limit of some sort and distraught. He found her story tragic and he felt for her…for both of them.

The three learned quite a few things while observing. First and foremost was the fact that this…organization purposely sent them here, knowing they had no chance to survive this mission. And they had been sent here due to slight problems with authority or some other such mundane issue. Such a blatant disregard for their subordinates utterly disgusted all three of them. If this…organization didn't change their ways, then they would be among the first to be destroyed.

Cloud was very familiar with groups like that. Dabbling in experiments and using others to accomplish their own means, treating everyone else as fodder or supplies or disposable ingredients. Groups like this had no place in the world and he'd see to it personally to destroy them. He'd be damned if he let them to their own devices so they could end up unleashing some kind of hellish undefeatable monster he really didn't feel like fighting all over again. Sephiroth had been enough thank you very much.

Watching them heal had been quite a thing to witness as well. Entire limbs were regenerated. Wounds that should have been fatal turned out to be a mere inconvenience and other such things pointed them out as beings designed to fight for as long as possible. The prospect of fighting one of these women made both Bonkotsu and Zabuza grin. Perhaps after this whole ordeal they'd get a few spars out of them.

Eventually though, it got late. The three men abandoned their observations for the first time and settled in to get some sleep. Zabuza, tired of being cold, started a fire with a snap of his fingers. He made sure to make it small enough to where they weren't to be detected but large enough to warm up his freezing torso.

"Fuck I'm never coming to this shit hole again," he muttered as he wiped snow from his shoulders and head. Cloud snorted while Bonkotsu laughed. Wordlessly the three men settled in for the night, each one of them placing their massive blades near the flames knowing that metal absorbed heat in spades. They didn't say anything as they drifted off to sleep. They perhaps had questions they wanted to ask each other but they honestly couldn't really find a way to ask. It was too…awkward. Hell they were still getting used to the fact that they had been resurrected in a new land and thrown together with the task of saving said land. The questions could wait for now.

...

They awoke with a start when the wave of malice hit them like a freight train. Their eyes widened and they sprung to their feet.

"Holy shit!" exclaimed Bonkotsu as he grabbed his halberd and cast a look down at the city. There were around thirty of them, massive monsters of all shapes lumbered into the city towards the twenty four warrior women standing at attention.

Zabuza eyed both groups as they neared each other before his eyes narrowed. "Be right back," he muttered before he sunk into the ground without a word.

Cloud and Bonkotsu looked on in confusion until they themselves felt the two presences hidden well within the territory of the women. They observed with more interest.

The two Yoma that were hidden under the ground preparing to kill a couple of the weaker warriors never saw what hit them. Suddenly the ground seemed to shift and crush them in before something cut through them with brutal efficiency. As they died their last thoughts were along the lines of. _"S-something else…is here!"_

A little ways away, silver eyes napped open in shock when he felt two of the life energies of the beings he sent in get abruptly snuffed out. "What?" he said in shock. That was…far too fast. What the hell was going on down there? He tried to focus on the area, trying to determine what had ended the lives of those two but he couldn't find anything. It didn't even seem like the battle had even started yet…so what…?

Another life was snuffed out, this time by one of the warriors. The battle had begun. Still though, he couldn't shake his unease or his excitement. Perhaps there was a warrior down there who was more than just an annoyance.

As Zabuza rose out of the ground next to Cloud and Bonkotsu, grinning like a shark, the battle began in the city.

"Well, that was my good deed for the day," he said in a joking matter even as he cleaned the purple blood and dirt clods from his blade. "Those cowards woulda killed at least three of those babes before the battle even began."

Bonkotsu eyed the Ninja and said, "I dunno what the hell that was, but damn that was impressive."

Zabuza chuckled. "I'm an assassin. I have numerous ways to kill something without them even knowing I'm there."

They watched as a woman with short slicked back hair with a few bangs tore through a monster with a rotating arm move. It looked like she wound it up like a rubber band. And judging from what they had learned, he wouldn't be surprised. They also saw the two women who had the speed techniques quick sword and wind cutter reduce another monster to bloody chunks of purple flesh. The three men felt their worry begin to lessen as they watched the battle progress, so far none of them had been killed. They were doing pretty good.

However something changed in an instant, another being arrived, with power that surpassed every woman there. The three men snapped their gazes to the city in an instant and found the source of this incredible aura. It was a raven haired man with a rather emotionless look upon his face. He seemed to be contemplating as he rested his hand on the severed head of one of the monsters. He was speaking to himself and eying five particular women with more interest than the others. No…he was completely focused on those five and no one else.

He was going to kill them. They hadn't even noticed him yet.

This was it. This was the instant things were looking bad. It was time to move. The man began to transform, his aura exploding outwards and freezing every woman there in shock, fear and astonishment.

"N-no way! That's…Rigaldo," began Miria, a look of horror on her face. "The silver-eyed Lion King! W-what's he doing here!"

The man finished his transformation, becoming a bipedal dark furred lion with intense beautiful silver eyes. He paused for just a second before he abruptly vanished in a burst of speed unlike no other.

Time slowed down at this instant as he appeared before Veronica, looking right at her.

"**One," **he said then struck.

The attack…it was so fast. Veronica's eyes widened in horror.

CLANG!

Then widened again in shock as she fell on her ass…unharmed.

She gasped at the sight of a…human man as he held his blade in between Rigaldo's claws. He was tall and imposing. His naked torso was covered in lean, rippling muscle and small scars. His lower face and neck were covered in white wrappings and his forearms were covered by black, white and grey camouflage arm warmers. His pants were a rather plain design of black coloring that had a few pockets. He also had a holster of some kind attached to his left leg and a pouch on his lower back.

He was holding his blade edge out towards Rigaldo and the tip at the ground. He could swing upwards at anytime. The silver eyed lion king's claws had been stopped cold by the blade.

He grinned and looked back down at Veronica.

"Hey babe you got a shirt? I've been freezing my nips off out here and its starting to get to me."

She could only gape…

**Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

**AN: Ho was that? Like it? I hope so. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter two**

As soon as Rigaldo appeared, she just KNEW it was over. This was the silver eyed lion king! The former number two of the male warriors whose power rivaled that if Isley himself! She had no idea what he was doing here but she knew it was over as soon as he had revealed himself.

Then that man appeared…

Astonishment couldn't even begin to describe what she was feeling when he appeared in front of Veronica and blockedRigaldo's attack. _Blocked _it! Stopped it cold! Never mind wondering how the hell he even managed to move as fast as he had.

Everything in her senses, told her that this man was human. There was no trace of yoma anywhere on the man and there was nothing else that indicated he was an unnatural being.

Yet…he was.

No human had the strength or the speed this man had just displayed. What was he? Was he a new type of soldier for the organization? A person who had spent years surpassing barriers to strength she didn't know humans had? She didn't know and it made her nervous.

"Hey babe what's the matter? Cat got your tongue?" he asked to Veronica who was still gaping at him.

She eyed Rigaldo, trying to discern what he may have been feeling. He was just as shocked as everyone else there, as if unable to comprehend what he was actually seeing. And veronica, the woman he had just saved and said the comment to looked at him with wonder and awe, her breaths suddenly shorter.

She went to speak, to gain this human's attention and perhaps force him to run when she was interrupted by the man suddenly heaving his blade upwards in an attempt to split the lion King up the middle. The attack was…fast. It was on par with a warrior and that froze her in shock once again. Rigaldo leapt back, barely avoiding the blow and narrowed his eyes.

The man grinned, rested his blade on his shoulder and leaned forward as if to charge. He eyed the women around him.

"I got this. You guys scatter." His words snapped them all out of their shock, prompting them to protest.

"No! Wait!" yelled Veronica, trying to stop him but it was too late. The man shot forward and vanished using the shunshin to increase his speed. She gasped as the man reappeared in front of Rigaldo, already in mid swing. The attack would have split him at the waist but he jumped up just enough to avoid the blade then kicked the man hard in the face with a growl.

The man exploded into water a millisecond later.

Rigaldo was flabbergasted. Not that he had any time to feel it as he had to immediately duck to avoid a decapitating blow to the neck as the man sailed over him he growled again and shot a clawed hand up, goring him through the chest. He exploded into water again.

"Heh gonna have to try harder, kitty cat," said the man as he appeared in swirl of smoke, crouching right at the back of the lion king with his blade once again position to decapitate him. If Rigaldo were anyone else the attack would have killed him. However, he was a different kind of opponent who, instead of panicking at seeing anyone get this close to and swing a massive sword at him, abruptly caught the blade with one hand, receiving a relatively shallow gash in the palm of his hand.

Rigaldo had not been expecting this…no one had obviously, judging from the amazed looks the claymores were currently sending the human's way, which means one of two things. This man was a citizen of this city which was highly unlikely as there was no way a human this strong could have stayed undiscovered this far into Isley's lands for very long.

Or two, he was a traveler who had stumbled upon the scene. He was no ally to the claymores nor was he an enemy. Though knowing humans and their natural hatred or fear towards his kind and the claymores, he had immediately decided to side with the lesser of two evils. But observing this human more closely, he saw only…interest and a bit of lust as he beheld the claymores. This was his first experience with them…as if he'd never even heard of them before.

He couldn't honesty say that he wasn't surprised when the human had appeared, because he was. He had barely seen the man coming and by the time he realized what was going on, his claws were already being stopped from eviscerating the claymore with the ponytail by his massive single edged sword. He also couldn't deny the slight pang of excitement and curiosity as he fought this human. His abilities were beyond what he was expecting. Hell he was stronger than a good deal of the claymores here and had nearly paid for underestimating him twice. And he had a feeling the human had more tricks up his sleeve. Also, humans had no yoki. He was nearly impossible to track. He would have to rely on senses he never really had to use often before in battle, hearing, smell, touch… This whole fight was proving to be more of a challenge than he was expecting…it made his blood pump a bit in excitement.

His ear twitched, catching a sudden sound from above. With a kick, he sent the man behind him flying and leapt to the side just as another man crashed into the ground where he was, his strike forming a small crater. Rigaldo eyed the newcomer with the same amount of surprise as he regarded the first one. This one had yellow hair not unlike that of a claymore and emotionless bright blue green eyes…no…not emotionless, but extremely guarded and serious. As he slowly rose from his crouch, the wind ruffling the long baggy sleeve covering his right arm, he too took an offensive stance. And he too was holding a huge sword. He eyed the awakened being for a second before he let out a displeased grunt.

"Tch, I missed," he muttered. The first man appeared before him again using that same speed technique and swung his blade. Rigaldo jumped high up and positioned his arm to extend his claws when something shot up and appeared to his side. His eyes had only a second to widen and focus on the blonde man before he swung down. Rigaldo caught the blade but was unprepared for what happened next. Pure energy launched from the blade and impacted his chest where it exploded, wrenching open a savage looking wound that sent purple blood spraying.

"Blade beam," was the quiet whisper that came from the blonde's mouth.

"**Ugh!" **What the hell was this? How was this even possible! Rigaldo did a back flip to avoid getting hit by the blonde again and landed with a heavy thud, crouching and ignoring the blood dripping from his chest. The shirtless man was on him in an instant swinging down with a loud yell. He growled and jammed his hand into the man's stomach before leaping back again as the blonde crashed into the ground once again with his sword swinging down. He had just enough time to see the shirtless man once again explode into water before the blonde launched himself at him, seemingly flying across the ground.

Rigaldo growled and without warning, all ten of his claws extended and shot out at the blonde twisting and writhing like snakes and lashing out all around him, slamming into the blonde's blade and sending him back and impaling the shoulder of the shirtless man.

"Ugh!" the man grunted as his shoulder was impaled. Rigaldo almost disregarded him, thinking it was another one of those…water copies when the scent of blood caught his nose. Actually surprised he turned back to the man. However what he was met with was not a look of fear or surprise, but one of grim determination and a satisfied smirk as his hands finished a sequence of odd signs.

"Water style," he began with a grin. "Water dragon jutsu."

The snow around them melted and surged up, engulfing a surprised Rigaldo and taking the shape of a fierce reptilian monster that gave a roar and shot at a building with the intent of slamming its captive into it harshly.

Without a word, Rigaldo retracted his claws and used them to obliterate the water dragon, freeing himself and allowing for the water to clear away… just in time to take a vicious slash across the face courtesy of the blonde. He let out another yelp of pain as he back handed the offending human away harshly, sending him crashing through the roof. That's the second hit these humans have scored on him. This was getting ridiculous. Perhaps it was time to stop holding back, no matter how much it shamed him to do this, going all out against mere humans. But these two were…something else. If things keep going the way they were, they might actually seriously hurt him

Ignoring everything else around him he stood and let out a mighty roar that shook the very ground, yoma energy exploding off of him in a torrent of power and destruction. Wind, water and debris was kicked up and sent flying out in all directions. All of the other claymores had long since left the area, still locked in battle with the numerous awakened beings throughout the city and eager to be as far way from Rigaldo as possible. Three claymores though were still watching the fight. Veronica, Cynthia and Clare stood and watched with wide eyes and awe at these two men as they went toe to toe with the silver eyed lion king. They had at first intended to intervene and perhaps save the two from a grizzly death but that notion had been quickly cut off when the humans proved more than capable of taking care of themselves. Miria and the other commanders had gone off somewhere to assist their comrades.

Veronica did start to worry then, when the lion king decided to quit playing around. She watched as the two humans stood side by side, unflinching as the full might of Rigaldo was released.

"**Alright…Humans, if that's what you even are," **he began. **"You have obtained my undivided attention and my unwavering interest."**

He tensed.

"**Who are you? And what are you doing here fighting for these pathetic pawns of the organization? And how did humans come to possess power such as you two?"**

"Eh?" began the shirtless man. "You're just now asking us this?" He rose from his couch and rested the blade on his shoulder. The blonde spoke next. "It does not matter who we are," he said.

"And as to why we're defending them," said the shirtless man as he gestured towards the three claymores who were watching the battle. "Who the hell wouldn't? It's obvious which side we were going choose as soon as we saw this little skirmish of yours. What do you think we are? Gay?"

Rigaldo eyed them, **"I see…"**

"Oh and you're wrong about another thing too," said the shirtless man with a smirk.

There was a whizzing sound from above once again Rigaldo's eyes widened as he went to dodge. He failed, even with his speed advantage as it was already nearly too late.

A massive double edged halberd blade jammed into the ground with a loud thunk where he had been standing. There was a spray of purple and a severed arm fell to the ground. Eyes widened all around as a third man landed on the handle of the blade, grinning savagely. His dark blue eyes focused on the stunned awakened being as he hopped to the ground and yanked the blade from the ground with no effort at all. Purple blood was still dripping off of it.

"Yo," he greeted. "Meet Bonryu, my trusty companion." He rested the blade on his shoulder and began to walk towards Rigaldo. " And I'm Bankotsu." He smirked evilly. "Unlike those two I aint really here to save anybody, though these chicks are a nice little consolation prize, I'm not all that concerned with their safety. I aint a babysitter they should be able to take care of themselves."

The…Bonryu pulsated and began to glow.

"I'm here hoping you or any other of these wannabe demons can give me a decent fight. If not, then perhaps one of these women can do that instead."

Visible energy began to build up in the halberd as he began to spin it above his head.

"You're fast. But that's pretty much all you got goin for you. I've been watching you…lion boy. You aint shit."

He paused to look at the other two men.

"And you two, leading him on like that, how ridiculous. I may not know you but even I can tell that this guy should be long dead already after facing you two."

Cloud closed his eyes and gave a slight smirk. "Heh."

Zabuza chuckled. "Whatever. You kill him off then since we're not doin a good enough job. And make it quick I'm tired of this shithole city and its cold." To emphasize his point, he shivered as he casually threw a shuriken to the left where it buried itself into the eye of an awakened being who was fighting with Flora, allowing said woman to flay his ass with a wind cutter while he shrieked in surprise and pain.

Bonkotsu looked at Clare, Veronica and Cynthia and said, "Dunno why you've been standing there this whole time doin nothing but I suggest you all get the hell outta the way. Go help kill off those other monsters or something cause ya definitely don't wanna be here when I attack."

There was a sudden movement. Rigaldo attacked with the speed of a bullet, aiming to end the existence of this arrogant human who had dared to cut off his arm. The blonde appeared in front of him with a burst of unknown energy, leaving a trail of blue as he blocked the claws.

"Bankotsu is right," he began even as Rigaldo's eyes widened. "We have been…deceiving you."

Quick as lightning a smaller blade detached itself from the main blade and landed firmly in the blonde's fee hand. Before Rigaldo could respond, the blade was sunk into his unprotected side.

"I've fought and defeated opponents far stronger than you. You are…insignificant to me," said Cloud.

Rigaldo couldn't believe it. This human was telling the truth. This human truly believed what he was saying and he himself was beginning to believe it as well. The look in this human's eyes… No…these were not humans. It was impossible for them to be. Not with this power.

Bankotsu spoke even as the energy began to swirl around him more violently. "Speed or not. You will die right now." He slammed the halberd into the ground and gave a sadistic smile.

"Nice knowin ya."

The ground and buildings were torn asunder by the wild release of pure power and wind that exploded from Bankotsu's weapon. A wave of pure destruction raced across the ground and engulfed everything that stood in its way. Cloud barely avoided the attack and only then, because he was not directly in front of it. It was the same for the three claymores. Rigaldo…did not. He could have dodged, easily. His speed far outpaced the speed of Bankotsu's attack, however, as he went to leap out of the way, pain exploded from his calves and heels as vital tendons were suddenly severed and rendered his entire lower half useless for an instant.

"**What?"**

The blast slammed full force into him a second later and flayed him six different ways, swiping him right off of his feet and sending him careening trough the air. He refused to scream. He wouldn't dare give these people the satisfaction of thinking they made him suffer.

He had just enough time to catch a glimpse of the shirtless man, rising out of the ground like some sort of specter, a triumphant, mocking grin on his face as he twirled a pair of purple stained daggers on his fingers.

He wanted to roar. He wanted to scream in indignation, knowing that these humans had truly held back on him, had killed him. He felt…cheated.

But he also couldn't hold back the pure…admiration he felt.

"_Remarkable! These three are…amazing!"_

He paused in his thoughts as he focused for a second on the energy tearing him apart.

"_I don't know what you are…male warriors. But if I'm to die, I'm glad it was to you…Heh. Though I wonder if you can face Isley…or even worse, that girl of his."_

He exploded into bloody chunks with a serene smile on his lips.

Silver eyes snapped open in shock causing the man garbed in black to look at the owner of said eyes in interest.

"Something wrong…Galatea?" He asked.

The woman, a very beautiful claymore with long straight hair turned to the man. "Something else…is in that city. It just killed Rigaldo."

"Hmm something else you say?" he asked interested.

"Yes. I…cannot identify it but it definitely was not a warrior. The aura is…all wrong."

She looked at the man. "Several warriors have been killed already as well.

The three men stood there, staring at the path of destruction, waiting to see if Rigaldo had somehow survived that attack when someone came up to them and said, "He's gone. You killed him."

They turned and saw one of the claymores looking at them with calculating, suspicious eyes mixed in with astonishment and wonder. She was a pretty little thing, with straight hair that hung down to chin length and an aura the just screamed leader. The other two approached as well. The one with the pony tail that Zabuza had saved couldn't help but stare.

"Who are you?" asked Clare.

The three men relaxed if only a bit, their blades once again resting on their shoulders.

Cloud gave a slight nod. "Just travelers who were passing through."

Bankotsu snorted and turned his attention to the west where a large gargoyle looking awakened being was fighting with two women.

The sound of battle was everywhere. Zabuza looked at the three warriors. "We are…sort of lost actually. We came here looking for information and supplies. Instead we found a bunch of babes in tight clothing getting attacked by monsters."

All three of them actually looked a bit surprised by his last words. He thought they were attractive? Did he not know what he was talking to?

"What are you going to do now?" Zabuza looked back. Veronica was looking at him with a look he recognized as uncertainty and a bit of admiration. The former Kiri Ninja grinned.

"There are still quite a few monsters in this place. Hopefully one of them will prove difficult to kill, though I doubt it, seeing as how that lion freak was the strongest, still though." He turned to leave.

"Wait."

He paused and turned his attention to one of the claymores. The one with the braid was looking at him, her eyes shown with a bit of awe and fascination.

"Just…what are you?"

Zabuza raised an eyebrow. "Worry about that after this mess is cleaned up babe." He was gone in a swirl of mist before she could respond. Veronica turned to the spot that the other two men were…but they were gone as well.

Undine snarled at the sight of her mutilated comrades. Dammit this was unacceptable! Saved from Rigaldo, only to parish at the hands of this trash. She collapsed to her knees looking exhausted, her uniform was covered in blood and was in tatters. She tried not to look at the corpses of Cuinee and Zeruda. Claudia and she were surrounded. There was four awakened beings all grinning down at the two of them. One of them licked its lips cleaning the blood off from where it had bitten Zeruda in half.

"Guess this is it," she muttered. She looked at Claudia. The most she could do now was distract the monsters long enough for the weaker woman to run away and unite with a larger group of comrades. She forced herself to her feet.

"Claudia, when I give the word, you run. Got it?"

"W-what! C-Commander! I couldn't!"

"You will!" she yelled. She prepared her swords. "This ain't up for debate! When I say run, you RUN!"

She could only nod in resignation. Undine snorted. "Good."

The awakened beings began to close in on the two, ready to tear them limb from limb. The muscled woman tensed and prepared to attack.

However, Undine's plan was thrown out the window the second he appeared. Like a spirit sent from above, Cloud seemingly flew from the side and swung his massive sword. The closest awakened being lost his head in an instant, his body collapsing in a fountain of blood and the head slamming into the ground. The other three gasped.

"**Wha…?"**

The blonde landed on the side of a building and used it as a platform to launch himself at the next one. This one tried to block using its armor but Cloud's sword passed right through that, and him as he continued by. The monster was bisected from right shoulder to left hip and the upper body slid off and fell to the ground. The other two charged the man at the same time from two different sides, attempting to sandwich him. The man responded by snorting and clicking a button on his sword. Another blade detached itself from the main unit and suddenly the man was wielding two weapons.

Undine and Claudia watched as the man spun twice, splitting both monsters in half before he landed with a soft thump and reattached the swords. They watched as he looked around, spotted a couple more awakened beings and shot after them. They were stunned. They could only sit there.

Yuma and Carla were alone, separated from their comrades and facing a hopeless situation. They were terrified yet determined to survive.

But…Surviving was just not possible.

They hid, under the debris of a home as a single awakened being searched for them, taunting them, mocking their weakness. Lily and Pamela had disappeared. Yuma didn't know where to, but chances are, they were dead.

The awakened being suddenly paused and she began to pant in terror, thinking they had been found. Carla looked at her with wide eyes.

"Heh. A bit reckless of ya to be wondering this far away by yourself isn't it?"

A man was speaking. His tone was mocking and full of battle lust. He…wasn't a yoma.

With a gasp she exploded from the debris preparing to yell at the man to run, however her words died in her mouth as soon as she saw what was happening.

The man was finishing splitting the monster down the middle from head to groin with a massive blade and a disappointed look on his face.

"Pathetic," he spat as the monster died with a few gurgling screams.

She stared at him in shock and wonder. Who was he! What was he!

The man looked at her then scoffed. "Another girl eh? and alive this time." He paused as he examined her then shrugged. "Try not to die like they did. I aint gonna save you again."

Then he was off. Carla emerged next. "What…just happened?"

Even as she fought, her mind was constantly occupied by that man. He had come out of nowhere, saving Veronica and quite possibly the others as well. She didn't know why Rigaldo was here but she had assumed that this could only be to take out the people that were holding the group together. However , that man and appeared and stopped his surprise attack cold. As he engaged the silver eyed lion King, she and the others had headed off, intent on saving their comrades and dealing with Rigaldo as soon as they could, provided that man even slowed him down enough.

Then she felt Rilgalo's life force get snuffed out. She had even felt the energy that did him in. What the hell… had just happened? How?

She avoided another blow from an awakened being and appeared above it with a raised blade. However before she could swing down, the creature suddenly collapsed and shrieked in pain. "What?"

The same man that had saved Veronica and apparently killed Rigaldo grinned up at her and he rose from the ground then planted his massive blade in the creature's head, silencing him forever. She then saw the severed tendons in the creature's ankles and calves. That's what made him collapse.

She landed on the ground and eyed the man intently. "If we survive this, you have explaining to do."

The man simply smirked. "Heh whatever you say babe, whatever you say."

An explosion went off towards the west, both looked over just in time to see three awakened beings explode into chunks as a wave of glowing wind blasted them.

"Heh. Don't know him very well and I can already tell he's gonna be a pain." He was gone before she could say anything or question what the man had meant by that, leaving the woman standing there.

It was all going so well. One by one, the claymores were being wiped out, even as whatever it was that was helping them, killed Rigaldo.

But then right after Rigaldo was killed, the life forces of the awakened beings began to vanish…at an astonishing rate. All he could do was stand there shocked as the numbers between the claymores and the awakened beings evened out in minutes, then dwindled to the point that they were then outnumbered.

He contemplated going down there and putting a stop to this but he had more pressing issues to get to, such as heading south to conquer Luciella. As the last of the awakened beings were crushed under the might of whatever was helping the claymores, he silently swore to find out what was responsible…and kill them. Something that powerful couldn't be ignored for too long.

With a regretful sigh, he began to head out. Hopefully the other awakened beings he had sent after the organization and Riful would stall them long enough for him to do what he needed to do. His thoughts then drifted to the human boy he had recently picked up.

Pricilla would be alright in his hands. He'd be back as soon as possible to make sure they didn't get into any trouble anyway.

With one more look towards Pieta, he sighed, giving a mournful nod for Rigaldo and all the others that had been slain. "I better get moving," he muttered. Then he chuckled as he realized something.

"Thirteen eh? What will you do now…foolish men of the organization?"

With a final smile, he vanished, as if the snow itself swallowed him up.

The aftermath was one of silence. The smell of death lingered in the frigid air and the city seemed to howl mournfully for the carnage that had taken place. Even as the sun rose over the horizon, bathing the area in golden light, there was…no sense of peace.

"Commander Miria!" called a woman with short cheek length hair with a grin as she and another woman, this one with extremely short hair approached. Miria eyed the two women and felt relief enter her being at the sight of them.

"Helen, Deneve. You survived."

Helen's grin grew larger. "Hah. Damn right I survived!" then her look grew more serious. "Though I'm not sure how we would have had it not been for that crazy ass man with the gigantic halberd."

Miria raised an eyebrow.

"Halberd? I thought it was a single edged sword with a curved tip?" There was no way she was mistaken. She had seen the guy twice. Helen shook her head. "Nope. This guy's weapon was definitely a Halberd. Man you shoulda seen it! One swing and he destroyed three awakened beings like it was nothing! It was…the most impressive thing I'd ever seen."

Deneve nodded silently. Then she turned as two more people arrived on the scene. Deneve felt her lips twitch upwards a bit.

"Undine, Claudia." The buff woman huffed and crossed her arms, though she was smiling as well.

"Yo. So ya made it eh? I'm surprised." Deneve snorted as well, opting not to say anything. Three more people arrived. It was Flora, Jean and Tabitha. Jean had a vicious looking slash on her stomach but was otherwise fine. Tabitha and Flora looked like they been through hell and back. It was a wonder they were still moving. Tabitha looked worse though and both Flora and Jean were supporting her on their shoulders. When they arrived, they gently placed Tabitha on the ground who gave a weak, "Thanks," in gratitude. Flora sat down as well while Jean began to look around.

Yuma and Carla arrived next. Both were still looking amazed, as if something impossible had happened to them. Miria could guess what. The two women saw the rest of their comrades and gave extremely happy smiles, glad to see more of their comrades alive. It was at this time that Clare, Cynthia and Veronica arrived. Jean immediately stopped looking around once her eyes landed on Clare, looking extremely relived.

They took the time to reconcile with what had happened…to them. And after an hour they realized that they were the only survivors, and though the amount that had survived that night was nothing short of astonishing, there had still been losses. They mourned their fallen comrades in silence and cursed the organization for doing this to them. Truthfully they all should have died. Or perhaps, far more should have, even with Miria's plan. If it wasn't for that man…

She paused. Her eyes widened. How had she forgotten about him?

She swiftly began to move, heading towards the center of the city.

"Miria?" asked Deneve, raising an eyebrow. The Claymore didn't say anything. She just continued to move.

"C'mon," said Helen, following after her. The others all exchanged glances before they collectively shrugged and began to follow as well.

"Heh, there you are. About time," said Zabuza as Miria, followed by her twelve surviving comrades arrived at the village center. The ex Kiri Ninja was sitting casually on the massive head of a slain Youma. A tattered shirt and cloak covered his upper body. Bankotsu was leaned against the head with his arms crossed and his eyes closed. His Bonryu was stabbed into the ground while Cloud seemed to be studying a severed arm.

Miria's eyes widened. There were three of them? Three human males with the power to slay so many Awakened beings including Rigaldo himself! This was NOT what she was expecting.

She idly noticed the rest of her comrades reacting in similar manners. Some of them hadn't even seen any of the men until that moment.

The three men examined each one of them individually. Thirteen pairs of silver eyes were staring back at them, though only the apparent leader's were business-like and demanding. Zabuza found her amusing and decided to voice as much.

"Ya got something to say spiky hair?" he asked.

Miria's eyes narrowed.

**AN: It seems so…choppy. I even edited this chapter like five times. I hope it's up to your standards. If not I can see about redoing it.**


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